Is There a Downside to Direct Primary Care?

October 19, 2015

As Richard Romero, writer for www.ambulatoryadvisor.com describes in his article "Direct Primary Care: Just Medicine," direct primary care (DPC), also known as concierge medicine, is a "direct financial relationship between the patient and the doctor." It's also so much more!

But What's the Downside to Direct Primary Care?

As Mr. Romero discovers in his interview with Cypress Concierge Medicine's Vice President of Operations, Julie Robinson, one of the challenges facing physicians during a transition is moving to a reduced patient panel. Though the reasons for doing so are clear (more time to spend with their patients, same day or next day appointment availability, ability to focus on pro-active medicine, etc.), Robinson says “when a physician goes down to 300 patients, that means the other 2,600 have to go find another provider. So, it basically displaces the patient. That’s a big challenge for the physicians. To feel like you are displacing a patient can be a challenge, and that is one of the hurdles that physicians have to really tackle when they make this decision."